EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE FUNDING CALL

1. Title: EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE FUNDING CALL2. Awarding Authority: Medical Research Council (MRC), NIHR, Charity, Learned Societies) and NIHR lectureships, GB Email: experimental.medicine@mrc.ukri.org. Web: 3. Contract type: Service contract4. Description: You should address gaps in our understanding of the causes, progression and treatment of human disease through experimental intervention, or challenge, in humans.Researchers at eligible organisations can submit proposals for academically-led projects.Awards are made every year and there are deadlines every six months.There will be an annual budget of £10million and we will support a range of award sizesWe generally fund 80% of the full economic costs of your research, and your research organisation must agree to find the balance.What we’re looking forYou can apply for academically-led experimental medicine projects, conducted in humans, based round a clearly articulated gap in understanding of human pathophysiology, with a clear path to clinical impact. These grants will produce new mechanistic insights, identifying opportunities to modify disease pathways and enabling novel therapeutic or diagnostic approaches for future development. All disease areas and interventions are welcomed by the Panel.The application must involve an experimental intervention/challenge in humans, perturbing the system to explore disease mechanism. The challenge may be, but is not limited to, pharmacological, immunological, physiological, psychological, infectious etc.The following types of proposals are eligible for support:The use of novel readouts or technologies especially related to early evaluation of clinical efficacy.The use of drugs, other interventions or measures with established safety profiles in new settings/conditions: e.g. repurposing drugs as tool compounds to probe disease mechanism.Deep characterisation/phenotyping of subjects using samples from clinical studies may be included where there is a clear link to a current treatment strategy but should not be the sole focus of the proposal.Acceptable approaches include the identification and verification of responder patient populations (precision medicine strategies).Proposals which are predominantly descriptive will not be shortlisted; an experimental approach, and a clear plan for establishing causal relationships and mechanisms, is expected.The following activities are ineligible for support:Characterisation/ phenotyping work aiming to elucidate disease aetiology (supported by the Research Boards)Experimental intervention/challenge in animals, using clinical assets to explore disease mechanisms and pathways (supported by the Research Boards)Development and evaluation of novel therapeutics, diagnostics or devices (supported by DPFS)High-throughput screening approaches to target validationPre-clinical model development and validation (supported by the Research Boards)Clinical efficacy trials (supported by the EME funding scheme)There is no limit to the amount of funding you can apply for or the length of your project. You should instead justify the timescale and resources needed in the context of the proposed work.CollaborationsApplications including partnerships with charities or industry are encouraged where these add value to the project – for example, in terms of access to expertise, technologies, reagents or funding. Please note that industrial collaboration is not a prerequisite for application.Applications involving collaboration with industry should adhere to the MRC Industry Collaboration Agreement guidance. The lead applicant must be the academic partner, and the project must be academically-led. Please note that we do not fund the work of your industrial partners.5. CPV Code(s): 73110000, 73100000, 730000006. NUTS code(s): UKK, UKK1, UKK147. Main site or location of works, main place of delivery or main place of performance: South West (England), Gloucestershire, Wiltshire And Bristol/Bath Area, Swindon.8. Reference attributed by awarding authority: Not provided.9. Estimated value of requirement: There will be an annual budget of £10million and we will support a range of award sizes10. Closing date: 16.9.2020 (16:00:00).11. Address to which they must be sent: For further information regarding the above contract notice please visit:12. Other information: Status: OpenOpen date: 29 Jul 2020Closing date: 16 Sep 2020 16:00 GMT+1Type: Grants, Researcher-ledWho can applyYou should be based at an eligible research organisation, which include:higher education institutionsUKRI-approved independent research organisations or NHS bodiesgovernment-funded organisationsMRC institutesMRC units and partnership institutesinstitutes and units funded by other research councilsOur general guidance for applicants contains more details on institutional and individual eligibility.Investigators in receipt of Fellowships (MRC, NIHR, Charity, Learned Societies) and NIHR lectureships are eligible (if their fellowship T&Cs allow).How to applyYou must first submit an outline proposal via the Je-S website. The opportunity is open for seven weeks leading up to the deadline, and there are deadlines for outline proposals in September and December 2020.When applying select:Council: MRCDocument type: outline proposalScheme: Experimental MedicineCall/type/mode: Exp Med: Sept 2020You must use our outline proposal form for your Je-S application. Please read our guidance for outline stage applicants before applying.If successful at the outline stage, you will be invited to submit a full application. We will send guidance on completing a full application.We aim to complete the process from outline submission to full decision in approximately 30 weeks.Event Date TimeOutline application opening date * 29/07/2020Outline application closing date * 16/09/202 16:00Outline Panel Meeting Early November 2020Outline (and invited full) application opening date 09/11/2020Outline and full application closing date 22/12/2020 16:00How we will assess your applicationYour application will be assessed in a two-stage process. Your outline proposal will first be considered by an independent panel of experts.The panel will assess your proposal on the following criteria:fit to the call remitscientific rationale and potential impactresearch strategy and experimental designdeliverability of the projectIf successful, you will be invited to submit a full proposal. This undergoes external peer review before a further and more detailed review by the panel. All applicants will receive feedback from the assessment process within eight weeks of the panel meeting. ContactGeneral enquiries email awarding authority.# funding opportunity